college or not

[njarbor]

okay guys ,here is my problem. a really good friend of mine went to paul smiths college for a year and came home. everything i know about climbing and trees is from him . the problem is is that i want to know more about the arbiculture industry and learn things the right way. ive looked into schooling in the northeast and the only 2 schools that i could go to are paul smiths college and penn state. penn states tuition is too high so i was considering going to paul smiths college in january. however, i am afraid that my friends family and possibly my friend will think that i am trying to rub it in his face or something to that effect. i really am at a fork in the road . i know that like 2 percent of the people that work with trees in my area went to school and the other 98 percent didnt and it definately shows . people say you dont need school you need hands on learning. i agree to some extent but i also believe that without a good education you wont get too far . i dont mind busting my ass at a job but i also dont want to be feeding a chipper for 10 years then get a chance to climb . i want to climb safely and efficiently .if anyone can help or give me some advice please help . thanks in advance

 

[treeman82]

Check out the Stockbridge School.

http://www.umass.edu/stockbridge/Arbor.Stockbridge.html

Great place, great teachers... much better than Paul Smith's from what I am told by people who went there, and then transferred

 

[TREETX]

There is no subsitute for eperience or education. Only if the school of hardknocks people and academia freaks could see that.

I have never heard someone say,"I wish I didn't have all of that education."

You CAN do both.

Check this old thread

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9016&highlight=college+education

 

[njarbor]

thanks alot guys. i really appreciate it . i am going to look into stockbridge. honestly when i first became interested in tree care i was like oh okay i can take the test to become a certified arborist after my 18 months and boom .. but after seeing the way that people do halfhearted work that i have seen in my area, i realized that it would be in my best interest do get it done right . i.e. using a lowering line and a biner to lower branches and knocking down spars with a tractor

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Many tech schools have 2 year degree programs.

Nick Crawford (AKA Nickrosis) is active with the SSA. He could give you a list of scools in your area.

Also you copuld go to the Buzz site and ask Mark Chisholm where in NJ his Dad teaches.

 

[geofore]

Fork in the road

When you start to worry about what your friend or his family might say or think you are going down the wrong path. An education is about you, not about what someone else might say. Don't come home and gloat about it, get the education and use it. An education is a never ending process, you don't stop learning when you get out of school. By the time you finish school there will be new things out there to learn.

 

[Newfie]

Plus college is FUN!!!!!

 

[njarbor]

yeah my jeep got stuck in the woods there and a really good guy i met there who ended up helping me for 2 hours in sub zero tems said that . he was like we can get the skidder or the crane . he was serious too haha

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Re: Fork in the road

Originally posted by geofore
When you start to worry about what your friend or his family might say or think you are going down the wrong path. An education is about you, not about what someone else might say. Don't come home and gloat about it, get the education and use it. An education is a never ending process, you don't stop learning when you get out of school. By the time you finish school there will be new things out there to learn.

Can't top that!!!

 

[Tree Machine]

To school or not to shhool (I'm being funny)

I spent way too much time in academia, but I was a science geek. I wanted to be a scientist. I knew it in high school, knew it all through college and knew it a couple years into biotech research. Now I'm a treeguy. Just shows you don't always really know what you think you really know.

Wouldn't trade the education for anything, though. College women are just the best, and you're sort of insulated from 'real life' at least for a time.

Arboristsite.com University is a free program, well worth the time invested. The professors, like Drs. Sanborn, Maas, Dunlap (and many others) are here taking all students under their collective wings, guiding you with all their conglomerative knowledge to better the Arboriculture industry as a whole. Make sure this site remains part of your academic program, no matter where you dig in this Fall. Good luck. -TM-

 

[Crispin Hoar]

education is great. Don't just get it, use it. Grow it every day. I went to school 25 years ago at a formal school, but have learned every day since. AS is one of the best resources and will make you rethink subjects you thought you knew.

I work in a univercity town.(5 univercities) and have to deal with educated idiots whenever we work near the schools. I have to ask another crew to help not with the work but with the traffic control on the sidewalks.

Get and use your education. But enjoy your college time.

 

[dbeck]

Not really sure how to put this, but here goes...by going to college, you (in a sense) force yourself to learn. The neat stuff, weird stuff and the BORING stuff. That boring stuff can prove very useful in the future. On the job, where you might learn a lot, you might miss out on the boring stuff for just that reason-boring.
Also, you may get a greater appreciation of the ability to learn and apply that for the rest of your life.
One more thing, I am a firm beleiver that attending higher education schools promotes a better set of social skills which will for sure pay off in the commercial market.